ASD Workshops For Retail Success

The ASD Las Vegas trade show runs August 4-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where independent retailers and buyers from around the country and the world will meet and place orders with thousands of exhibitors. As a bonus, the event provides numerous educational sessions conducted by respected industry professionals, to help retailers grow their businesses in ways they never thought possible.

“This year, I’m bringing in several speakers to educate retailers on how to use the web as another channel to build recognition and increase their profits,” says Linh Vu, marketing manager for ASD. “It is such a big universe, and many retailers think they do not have the time or capability to devote to the web to expand sales. Our experts will show them easy steps they can take to move forward.” Seminars feature niche specialists, some new to the show and others who are back by popular demand.

Leveraging Social Media for In-store Events -Melissa McGraw and Steven Paul Matsumoto will be presenting this topic onAugust 6 from noon to 1 p.m. This session will cover social media strategies for before, during and after an in-store event, and present tools to manage and track an event’s performance. McGraw is founder of The Fashion Potential, and mentor to Seattle Fashion Incubator, and Matsumoto is founder and CEO of Stigmaré, Inc., which owns and operates Stigmaré Couture Marketing.

Creating the Ultimate Sales Team – Mercedes Gonzalez is returning to the ASD show this year, and will deliver this session on August 6 from 9-10 a.m. Gonzales details how to find, interview and train a sales team. Retailers will learn the five key points of empowering their staff, as well as new upselling concepts. Gonzalez has worked with many buying offices in the U.S., and has helped to open or restructure hundreds of stores both nationally and abroad, including the inaugural Sears store in Panama.

A Retailer’s Guide to Maximizing Sales, Online and Offline – On August 6, from 1:30-2:30 p.m., Suzy Teele and Bill McNulty will share what drives the varying purchasing habits of each major consumer generation. Teele and McNulty will provide solid research, along with tactics retailers can use today to attract local shoppers and increase sales.Teele is chief operating officer for SnapRetail, and is responsible for all strategic and tactical aspects of marketing and sales for the company. An expert in analyzing market trends, McNulty is publisher of Independent Retailer magazine, and has been in retail and sales for 25 years. He also presented at ASD in March. “Bill’s last session had really good reviews, and we are thrilled to have him back,” Vu remarks.

Additional topics include the future of online selling, leveraging social media, maximizing sales and others. Educational sessions run Monday and Tuesday, August 5-6, and are free to show attendees and exhibitors. For more details of this year’s sessions, visit asdonline.com.